“United 93″ captures chaos, bravery of Sept. 11

Few events bring as much anguish to this generation of Americans as the memories of September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked and used as weapons of terror by al Qaida, in the hope of starting a war between Islam and the West.

“United 93″ is the story of the fourth and final plane that was hijacked. The plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field after the passengers revolted against their captors, in what is regarded as the first return blow in the War on Terror.

The film starts with the four hijackers in their motel rooms, praying and preparing themselves for their day of infamy. They arrive at the Newark airport and go through security, just like any other passenger. Around them, in the airport lounge, other passengers make phone calls, work their laptops, or talk to each other.

The flight crew makes their preparations, the passengers board, the plane pushes back from the gate and gets in line to take off. As they wait for departure, the events of that day are already in motion. Controllers overhear Mohammed Atta, the leader of the 19 hijackers, make his announcement that “we have some planes.” The transponders of the other planes are turned off, and radar shows them heading for their targets. Yet no one really believes that this is a deliberate suicide mission until the second plane hits the World Trade Center.

In the fast two hours of the morning’s events, chaos reigns. Not because the people trying to deal with it were incompetent; rather that the procedures to deal with something like this were never envisioned.

The first hour of the film is the events as they unfold, in all their confusion and stunned realization for the people on the ground. The second concentrates on the events that took place on United 93, starting with the brutal murders of the pilot, co-pilot, lead stewardess and one of the passengers. The passengers and remaining crew are herded to the back, with two of the hijackers threatening them while the other two turn the plane toward its target; Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Building.

As the passengers use Airfones and cell phones to talk to their loved ones, they find out that two planes have hit the Trade Center. It dawns on them that their captors are planning a similar fate, and they decide to take action against them. After a few quick passionate goodbyes, they storm the cockpit and attempt to recapture the plane.

Director Paul Greengrass contacted all the family members of the passengers and crew of United 93, and made the film with their full cooperation. He cast the film using unknown actors, wanting the audience to focus on the story and not on a famous name playing a historical part. For the people on the ground — the aircraft controllers, the National Air Traffic Control command center, the military personnel — Greengrass cast as many of the actual people as he could.

On the single-disc edition, the documentary “The Families and the Film” interviews family members as they meet the actors that will play their loved ones. All of them see the film as a sort of catharsis, and none have any complaints. The two-disc edition includes “Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11,” a series of interviews with the civilian and military ground personnel who watched helplessly as the planes were hijacked and flew to their targets. Greengrass also discusses the need to make the film as accurate as possible in his director’s commentary.

“United 93″ does not make any judgments on the motives of the hijackers, the reactions of the American officials dealing with the situation, or the outcome. The events are told as they happen, using mostly hand-held cameras that give the viewer the feeling of being in the middle of the conversation. “United 93″ uses the power of film to present what the “9/11 Commission Report” could not; the sick, helpless feeling of events beyond your control, and the realization that the world has just changed forever.

It was inevitable that there would be films and television docudramas and documentaries made of the events of that dark day. Some cried “too soon” when they appeared; for some it wasn’t soon enough. Whether you, as the viewer, are ready to watch this film is a gut-check that you have to make on your own.